Slayers AGAIN
by ChafaMetal
Summary: Lina Inverse, sorcery genius, begins a new adventure with Gourry Gabriev, full of unexpected turns and reunions with friends, both old and new! DraMata Lina Inverse is back, and with more Dragu Slave than ever!
1. Episode 1

He stood in the middle of the nothingness. Chaos was probably more than this, and he knew it. Still, what he wanted was different. No, it had nothing to do with what he wanted. It was what SHE wanted. Suddenly, a pillar of light appeared in front of him. It shined so brightly that it was difficult -if not impossible- to retain full sight. But he was a Mazoku: he was able to.

He did what he rarely did and opened his eyes fully, revealing a cat-like expression. Merciless, he started smiling "Ahhh, so this is it. Interesting" he then again closed his eyes and regained his innocent-like position "This will turn out to be way more interesting than what Beastmaster-sama thought it would be! She will be very very pleased with this!" and then disappeared in thin air. The pillar of light followed him shortly thereafter.

The light shined brightly that day in a town in the southwestern part of the continent, where the feared Dra-Mata, bandit killer Lina Inverse and his faithful companion Gourry Gabriev had stopped for the night, and a good dinner. The table was full of different meals, and probably any passer-by would think that that much food would be way too much for a little girl and a swordsman, but there was more to them than what meets the eye. In less than a minute, they had devoured everything.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH this was SO GOOOOD!!!" yelled Lina while rubbing her stomach, leaning back on the chair. She was only sixteen, but had definitely made a name of herself.

"Lina!! You ate my steak!!!" cried Gourry, letting he fall to the table.

"You snooze, you loose!", she said triumphantly.

Suddenly, Gourry noticed some octopus tentacles still left and hurried to grab it with his fork and in no time ate it. He savored victory.

"Huh? Gourry!? That was MY OCTOPUSS!!!!" Lina cried in anger.

Still with his mouth full of the delicious octopus tentacles, Gourry mimicked Lina "You move, you loose!"

Lina got up fairly quickly and hit Gourry with her elbow right on his head, "ITS YOU SNOOZE YOU LOOSE, YOU IDIOT!! AND THAT WAS MY OCTOPUSS!"

"And you ate MY steak!", said Gourry with a full mouth.

Lina tried forcefully opening Gourry's mouth, while he struggled to swallow the last bite "It doesn't matter!!!", cried Lina, while Gourry, victoriously, swallowed his accomplishment. Lina let him go, with her eyes staring directly at the floor.

"What is it Lina?"

When she raised her sight, you could actually feel her wrath. Her eyes were on fire and the repulsive energy was frightening.

"L...Lina?"

"Dill... Brando..." she said, and the whole tavern blew up.

**Slayers AGAIN**

_Episode 1:_ **"An Unexpected Reunion!? Lina's Big Sister is Here!"**

Lina and Gourry found themselves running like they've never run before, but there was no one in sight following them.

"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO AND BLOW UP THE TAVERN, LINA!?", cried Gourry. His skin had received minor damages and Lina managed to cure them while they were still running.

"Don't ask stupid questions and just RUN! Besides, you had no right in stealing MY food!"

"And you're the one to talk! You ate MY steak! That was a ONE GOLD PIECE STEAK!!"

"Tsk, just keep running!" said Lina, while flapping her cape.

A few minutes later, they had already lost complete track of people from town.

Lina laid back on the grass, "Damn those unnamed towns! One can't eat dinner without end up being chased!"

"LINA! IT WAS YOUR FAULT!", said Gourry.

"Oh will you quit the technicalities, Gourry?"

The area was wonderfully green, surrounded by trees and a few blossomed flowers. It was clear that spring was already here.

"ACHOO!"

"What is it Gourry?"

"Allergies"

Struggling with boredom, Lina and Gourry decided to take a nap for a few minutes in there. They had been traveling together for almost a year now, and they've been through a lot. First the encounter with one of the pieces of Ruby-Eye Shabranigdo, sealed inside Rezo de Red Priest's eyes. Right after that, fighting an overpowered Copy Rezo drew almost all their resources dry. Then came Xelloss the mysterious priest, and his plot along with Hellmaster Phibrizzo and his own master Beastmaster Xellass-Metallium to annihilate Gaav the Demon Dragon King, and then use Lina and her Giga Slave spell in order to draw everything back to chaos (which, of course, went wrong, and the Lord of Nightmares took possession of Lina's body, annihilating Phibrizzo). And then the most strange episode of them all: defending the world from Valgaav, one of Gaav's apprentices, who had a plot to restart the world along with Dark Star, a Demon Lord of powers comparable to those of Shabranigdo's coming from another world. It was in that incident that the Sword of Light was lost forever, and Gourry had now lost any connection he might have had with magic. But their adventures did not finish at that moment: no, they were far from over. They had been wandering the world without Amelia and Zelgadiss, their companions in adventures, for quite a while now, looking for treasures and defeating bandits. Three months have passed since the last time the four friends met: Amelia was back in Saillune, doing diplomatic works for his father Philionel El De Saillune, and Zelgadiss was probably looking for a cure for his chimera body.

"Gourry?", asked Lina, waking up way before his companion and self-proclaimed guardian.

"What is it, Lina?", said Gourry, stretching and finally waking up.

Lina sat in the grass and smiled "Its so warm here, so comfortable..."

"Lina..."

"I feel like I could stay here forever" she said laying herself down, when she noticed a shadow had covered her head. She looked up and saw a young man with hazel eyes. "ara?" she blinked twice before sitting up before the young man. He was no taller than Lina, and by appearance no older neither. He had short but messy brown hair and was dressing a common peasant outfit: brown loose pants and a green sleeveless shirt.

"E... ex... excuse me... are you... by any chance... Lina Inverse-san?" stuttered the kid.

"Do you know this kid, Lina?" said Gourry

"Not at all. Yeah, it's me. What is it?" said a puzzled Lina.

"Yay!!! I did it! I found you! So it was true, the flat-chested, bandit killer, Dra-Mata, Lina Inverse!!"

"THE WHAT!?!?!?!" said Lina bursting into rage.

"I'm... I'm terribly sorry, Lina-san! Its just the description she gave me..."

"She... who?", Lina inquired.

"A woman. She paid me 5 gold coins to find you. She said you would be in the outskirts of an unnamed town around here"

Gourry was puzzled now too, "A woman?"

"Who was she, kid?", asked Lina.

"Oh, I don't know. She just showed up one day outside my father's farm a few minutes walk away from here, while I was doing my chores. She told me to look for the "flat-chested, bandit killer, Dra-Mata, Lina Inverse". Left me a bag with 10 gold coins and suddenly disappeared..."

Lina tried to put two and two together while suppressing her rage that was showing by a really marked vein in her forehead, but it just made no sense "So she just showed up, gave you some money, an awful description of me and told you to find me? And on top of that she knew exactly where we would be? Who the hell is this person?"

"I don't really know, Lina-san, but she told me to tell you to go to Atlas City, that she would be waiting for you there"

"Atlas City?" said Gourry "Aren't we a bit far from that place?"

"Yeah", said Lina, "but someone like this... we might want to meet her. I don't like invitations after what happened two months ago, with Filia and everything, but this is very interesting. Besides, she paid the kid, I don't think we'll be in trouble. Well, thank you a lot, kid"

"You're welcome, Lina-san!"

Soon, Lina and Gourry started walking away in direction to Atlas city to the north, about a three days walk.

"Oh! Lina-san!!" yelled the kid.

"Huh? What is it?"

"The woman! She also told me something else! She told me to tell you that if you reach Atlas City within one day, she will reward you with 50 gold coins!"

Lina's eyes started shining "50 GOLD COINS!?!?!? COME ON GOURRY, WE'RE LATE!!"

"But Lina! We're like two weeks away from Atlas City!"

"Then I guess we'll have to take a shortcut!!!! Ray wing!!!" she held on to Gourry and lifted off with him, flying at full speed "Bye-bye kid! Thank you!!!" yelled Lina.

Luna Inverse had arrived in Atlas City a few hours ago, and she had already tried every restaurant she could think of. Granted, she didn't have the voracious appetite of her younger sister, nor her irresponsibility, but she still enjoyed a good meal. She would have changed into a better outfit for the occasion, but time wasn't what she had the most, and she couldn't move from Atlas. She was still wearing her waitress outfit, which didn't really embarrass her, but made her look less interesting, to her own sight "Geez, I hope that brat gets here quickly". Suddenly, a shadow was cast on top of her 'Uh! I better get moving', she thought. However, a golden ray crossed the sky and barely missed her. Luna aimed to the sky with her index finger "FLARE ARROW!", and a paper came down. Suddenly, it seemed that time had stopped.

"This is...", the paper had an inscription. It was Beastmaster Xellass-Metallium's seal "Damn it"

"Knight of Ceiphied", a deep thunderous voice raged through all Atlas, unbeknownst to anyone but Luna.

'He's talking directly to my head... a Mazoku no doubt' Luna thought "Who are you, and why are you seeking me?"

"You know better than anyone else, Knight of Ceiphied"

"If you call me by that title, you should know that destroying you should take no more than a few seconds"

"As you wish... Knight of Ceiphied", and suddenly, the shadow retreated and time started flowing normally. "Is this your doing... Beastmaster?"

Lina and Gourry had been flying for the past two hours, nightfall had already come, and Lina was starting to feel really tired. However, her hunger for gold was even bigger and she managed to get past it. Gourry however, was another story.

"Lina... I'm tired", he cried, still clinging to Lina's waist.

"Would you STOP WHINING!? You've been complaining for the past TWO HOURS! And we STILL have four hours left!!!!!"

"But that doesn't mean that we can't camp... come on, the kid said a day, its still a lot of time till the whole day is through..."

"Oh dammit!!! Ok, OK! We'll camp, we'll sleep, BUT THAT'S IT!", said Lina, annoyed to no limit by Gourry's whinings.

They flew over to a plain full of bushes and a few trees. They quickly set up a camp and gathered some woods to keep the fire going.

"Ok Gourry, we might as well make the best of this. You go get us some food, I'll go see if I can find anything interesting nearby"

"Aye aye, sir!" said Gourry, and set off to do some hunting.

Lina walked a few minutes until she could smell some burnt oil coming nearby 'This is my chance', she though. 'Two or three minutes away... excellent!!' She smiled and chanted "Levitation!" and started levitating in order to be stealthier 'Maybe a small gang. Just one fireball put right where it belongs and they'll burn to a cri-...' then she noticed she had surpassed the limit of the coast and reached a cliff and started going down quickly. "WHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! RAY WING!!!!" she said, and took off to the skies. "DAMMED COAST! WHY THE HELL DID I HAVE TO STOP HERE OF ALL PLACES!!!!".

As soon as she was back on her foot on land, she sneaked her way past a bunch of bushes, where she saw a cave guarded by two men, with two torches, the source of the burnt oil smell. 'This is PERFECT!' she grinned 'One fireball inside that cave and KA-BOOM, the treasure is all mine!!'. She put her left hand on her back, while casting the fireball. The small hot red ball was already in her hand, "FIRE...BA-!!!!! huh?" she noticed some bushes had been burned by her fireball and a few sparks flew away. Something started smelling funny, so Lina nullified her spell and walked around the Bushes only to find the bandit's oil stash burning like hell. "WHAAAAAAAAA!!!" she yelled, with the fire catching her off guard. Before she could cast an ice or water spell, the bushes were all on fire and the bandits had already noticed it.

"Hey everyone! There's a fire here! Someone noticed us! We better scram!", one of the guards yelled. Lina couldn't believe what her ears were listening.

"N...no..." she yelled, while trying to get away from the fire.

Suddenly, a bunch of horses and carts stormed right next to Lina, who had already sacrificed a few of her hairs to the almighty fire. "N...no!!!!! My... treasure!!! Come... back... here...!!!!!! DAMN!... this... isn't... my... day..."

About twenty minutes later, Lina came back with nothing but burn marks all over her face.

"Yo, Lina! Err... Lina?" said Gourry, who had caught a boar for both of them.

"Yo... Gourry..."

"What happened, Lina?"

"Don't ask, and just give me some food..."

The next day, they woke up before the sun raised and took off as soon as they got their things together "ITS A THOUSAND GOLD COINS, GOURRY!", Lina had said, but soon she would regret flying all the way to Atlas. After four hours of flying, she was terribly tired, and could barely move her legs.

"Dammit, I can't even think about FOOD! I need to get some rest... what if we find an inn, Gourry?" she said, while they were walking to the entrance of Atlas.

But Gourry did not answer. His attention was on something else. "Lina...".

What Lina saw then was terrifying. The city was covered in Darkness, and no one was to be seen anywhere. It felt as if it was some sort of death pandemonium, with no corpses.

"What... what is all this?" said Lina.

"Do you think that..."

"The woman that was looking for me? I don't think so. This isn't regular magic. Its something only Rezo could have done, and even he would've taken a great toll on it with a city this big, and let's not forget he had one of Shabranigdo's fragments in his body..."

"What should we do?"

"We can't do anything, Gourry. We should probably just find an inn, put on a magic barrier and..."

"I'm not letting you do that, Lina. You're already exhausted as it is"

"So what do you suggest, Mr. Big Brains? No Sword of Light, no magic, its like saying "Hey, come 'ere, everyone! Steal our belongings and kill us while you're at it! Especially you, Mazoku!". Its pretty stupid, if you ask me"

"What do you suggest then?"

"A magic barrier"

"I already told you, Lina. I'm not letting you..."

"And you are right not to" said a female voice coming from behind them. Gourry and Lina unsheathed their swords and turned around.

"Who's there!", yelled Gourry.

Suddenly, a woman covered in a black hood appeared before them "You must rest, Lina Inverse-dono"

Lina was surprised, "Were you the one that was looking for me?"

"Yes I am. Now please follow me. You must rest"

Reluctantly, Lina and Gourry followed the mysterious woman. Her voice was muffled by her dark robe, which covered all of her mouth. She sounded deep and serious, and as they followed her, her walk was equally important.

"Where are we going?", Lina said.

"You need to rest", said the woman, and then didn't say another word for the whole walk.

After a few minutes of walking through the dense and dark mist that was covering Atlas, they came to an inn's door. The woman then started scribbling something on the door.

"What is she doing?", asked Gourry.

"A magic barrier, it will prevent anything from getting inside the inn"

"Doesn't that mean that we won't be able to get into it too?"

"No, moron!" Lina said hitting Gourry in the head, "She's probably going to allow us to pass"

"Please enter", the woman said. As soon as they did, the door closed and the woman was nowhere to be seen.

Gourry yelled, "DAMMIT! I'M FED UP WITH PEOPLE DISSAPPEARING IN THIN AIR!!!"

"Shut up, Gourry. She must be a very powerful sorceress. She's probably going to wait for me to be on full strength again. Why don't you rest a bit too, the trip must have taken a toll on you too"

"Yeah, you're right"

They both went upstairs and found five rooms. Gourry went into the first one and Lina to the one next to it.

"Lina, are you sure you don't want me sleeping next to you?"

Lina got incredibly angered at that comment "NO, YOU PERVERT! I'M PERFECTLY CAPABLE OF DEFENDING MYSELF!!!!!!!" she yelled and slammed the door closed. Once inside, she took off her cape and laid in the bed and fell asleep immediately. While she was asleep, though, her mind was working overtime. What happened in Atlas? Who was that woman? Why did she want to meet her so badly?

A few hours later, Lina slightly opened her eyes and noticed that the woman was staring at her from the other end of the bed. She couldn't see her, but she felt her.

"I don't like being watched in my sleep", she said while sitting in the bed.

"I am sorry. You kept your end of the bargain and reached Atlas in less than twenty-four hours. Here is your payment", said the woman while throwing Lina a bag full of coins.

Lina got to catch it and opened it "A thousand gold coins, right?"

"That is right"

"So now let's get to the point. Why don't we loose all the gloominess?"

"What do you mean?"

"The hood"

"Oh. Alright" said the woman and took off her hood, revealing a very long light green hair, and golden eyes, with very delicate factions. "My name is Helena"

"Helena, alright. So what is it you want from me? I don't think you wanted to get me here just to get me killed. You could've done that easily while I was asleep. Besides, why bother with the seal if you were going to kill me"

"That is right"

"So what's the deal here?"

"As you can see, something has happened here in Atlas"

"No kidding"

"What I want you to do is tightly related to what is happening here"

"Cut to the point. What is it?"

"I want your help in vanquishing a certain minion of the Dark Lord"

Lina was extremely surprised, "A... servant of Shabranigdo?"

"That is right"

Lina closed her arms and just smiled, "I'm not doing it"

"I will pay you ten times the amount you just received. Please think about it"

"Its not an issue of money. What makes you think I could even remotely compare myself to one of Shabranigdo's direct servants?"

"You defeated Hellmaster Phibrizzo eight months ago..."

"No I didn't. It was someone else"

"But still, if everything would've gone the way you planned it, you would have been the one to destroy him"

"I'm not doing it. I'm sorry, but I'm off the boat"

"Hmmm... I see", said Helena, with a quirk on her face "So be it", and then she disappeared into thin air just like before.

"What was all that about?", wondered Lina. She got up, got herself ready and walked outside. "Gourry!!! Gourry!!! Get up!" she said, knocking on his door.

The door opened and Gourry said, "What is it, Lina?"

"We're leaving"

"But Lina..."

"NO 'but Lina' NOW. We're leaving"

"What happened?"

"That Elena woman, she wanted me to vanquish one of Shabranigdo's servants"

Gourry was puzzled, "Shabrani-whatsis' what?"

"YOU JELLYFISH FOR BRAINS! DON'T YOU REMEMBER WHEN WE ALMOST DIED FIGHTING PHIBRIZZO!?!?!"

"Who's Phibri...whatever?"

Lina sighed, "I guess it can't be helped. Just get some food from the inn, we're leaving right now"

"Alright", said Gourry and headed for the kitchen.

Lina was uneasy about all this 'Why did she want me to vanquish one of Shabranigdo's servants? I didn't think they'd be doing anything else after what happened to Phibrizzo... and on top of that, she left without a word... she didn't even try to convince me. Who is that Elena?'

Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door. "Lina!!! Someone's knocking!!" said Gourry.

"I know! I know! As long as we don't invite them in they can't do anything"

"But what about if..."

"We still have to go outside, so no problem about that. Just get everything ready"

"Alright"

The knocking was persistent, until at one point a familiar voice to Lina yelled through the door "OPEN UP!!!!". That voice was enough to cool down Lina's blood and turn her white as a sheet.

"Wh... wh... wh... WHA!?" yelled Lina staring at the door.

"Lina, I'm getting that", said Gourry "I'm already done gathering some food"

"NO! NO! NO GOURRY! DON'T OPEN IT!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE! RAY WING!!!!!!" she said and hit herself with the ceiling of the inn.

"Lina???", said Gourry.

From outside the door, the voice said calmly "Lina! I know you're in there! Open up!"

Gourry turned to Lina "Lina? Do you know her?"

Lina however did not listen to Gourry, she was already excavating through the Inn's floor "LINA! Don't do that!!! What will the owners do after that!!"

"I RATHER CONFRONT A THOUSAND ENRAGED OWNERS AND PAY A BILLION GOLD COINS THAN CONFRONT WHAT'S BEHIND THAT DOOR!!!!!!!!", said Lina while digging even deeper with her own hands and successfully burying herself below the Inn's flooring.

"Lina, open up!" said the calm voice from behind the door.

"Lina!!!" said Gourry

"WE'RE ESCAPING FROM UNDERGROUND!!!!" said Lina, grabbing Gourry by his hair and pulling him towards the tunnel. Inside, Lina seemed like an overgrown mole, digging extremely fast.

"What are you doing!!!"

"Just FOLLOW ME AND SHUT UP!!!!"

Right then, Lina started excavating to the surface. As soon as she took a few tiles away from the city's floor, she peeked outside "Are we far from her yet!? ARE WE FA-!!!" but before she could finish her sentence, she noticed a well-developed woman in front of her wearing a black and white waitress' uniform and a bandana. Long brown hair covered most of her eyes but followed behind. As soon as their eyes met, Lina screamed like there was no tomorrow and fainted completely.

"So you WERE in there, Lina-neechan", said Luna, staring directly at her.

A few seconds later, Gourry emerged next to Lina and looked at Luna "Huh? Who are you?"

"Oh, you must be Gourry Gabriev-san. Nice meeting you, my name is Luna Inverse, Lina's big sister"

Thirty minutes later, Luna and Gourry were sitting inside the inn, having a cup of coffee and some food Luna prepared, while Lina was resting in a nearby couch.

"I get it! So that's why she's so terrified of you!", said Gourry.

"And she better be, after what she did", said Luna, looking directly at Lina. A brief cold rush went through Luna's body, making her shiver, while a nervous smile covered her face "I still get goosebumps thinking about those dirty villagers watching me naked"

Lina slowly started opening her eyes. "Gourry... I had the worst nightmare... We were in Atlas... and my sister..."

"Yo, Lina!" said Gourry, while Lina sat down on the couch and saw Luna again.

"Hi, Lina-neechan", Luna said.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" she said, and fainted again.

"Lina!!" said Gourry.

"Don't worry, she'll get used to me being around"

A full hour later, and five different faintings from Lina, she was finally sitting next to Gourry, but with her sight completely to the floor.

"So, I'll cut to the point. Lina-neechan...", said Luna.

"YES, M'AM!", she said rising her sight but avoiding Luna purposely.

"Cut the crap, will ya?" said Luna "From today I forbid you from doing any more magic"

"What?" said Lina and Gourry in unison.

Luna put down her cup of coffee and stood up. Pointed directly at Lina and said "You are forbidden from doing any more magic"

"But... Luna-neesama!"

"No buts, you will do as I say"

"But..."

Suddenly, they heard a big commotion coming from outside the Inn.

Luna and Gourry immediately got up. After a few seconds away, a puzzled Lina followed, "What is that!?"

"The Mazoku", said Luna

"MAZOKU!?", yelled Gourry.

"Yes. They have infested this town. That mist you see, the darkness, its all their work. I'm not sure what they want, but I know enough not to take all this lightly"

"Luna-neesama! What IS going on!"

"That is not of your concern, Lina. As I said, you are forbid of casting magic"

"Luna-san!" said Gourry.

"You two, wait here. You are useless in this fight", said Luna looking towards the door and stormed there, leaving the door open. There, Lina and Gourry could see that countless lesser demons were fighting against what seemed to be air.

"What the HELL!?" yelled Gourry.

They both ran outside, watching Luna fight furiously against the Mazoku. Suddenly, one of the Mazoku teared the space and a lot of blood came from it.

"WHAT!?" yelled Gourry completely confused.

"The inhabitants! They're sealed in the Astral Plane! That's why we couldn't see them! And the Mazoku are slaughtering them on both planes!!! Who could actually have the power to do this!"

"I don't get what the heck you are saying but I see blood and that means people are dying!" Gourry quickly unsheathed his sword and ran towards one of the grotesque, horned and unproportional monsters. "HAAAAAAA!!!", he yelled, while slashing the Mazoku with his sword. It seemed to do little, for the Mazoku furiously turned to him and started beating him with its huge claws.

"GOURRY!!!!" yelled Lina. "I'm sorry, sister, but I CAN'T LET THIS HAPPEN! FLARE ARROW!!!", she yelled while aiming at the Mazoku. One swift strike and the Mazoku was no more. Gourry was left in the floor, not really hurt, but defenseless against that specific Mazoku.

He got up and smiled at Lina, "Let's fight!"

"Here we go!", smiled Lina "Levitation!" she yelled and lifted off to the air.

"Lina! Stop this at once!" said Luna. Lina shivered at the sound of those words, but her will to save everyone was greater than the enormous fear she felt towards her big sister.

Lina began chanting while moving her arms over her head "Oh, source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand... FIREBALL!!" she yelled, throwing a huge fireball towards a group of Mazoku, which blew up in place.

"Damn! They keep coming!" said Gourry fighting one of them.

"Freeze Arrow!" yelled Luna, aiming at one of the Mazoku. It started freezing in no time.

Gourry, on his side, was having a hard time fighting two of the Mazoku at the same time. One of them hit him on his back, almost knocking him down. He got up and smiled "This... isn't over!!!!" he said "HAAAAAA!!!!", while slashing one of the Mazoku in half, rendering him sand in no time. He then proceeded to keep fighting with the other Mazoku, avoiding his physical attacks while trying to slash him with his sword.

"We aren't getting anywhere with this!" yelled Lina from the air, when she saw a Mazoku leaping into the air and going directly at her "WHAAAAA!!! YOU STUPID UGLY MONSTER! BOMB DI WIND!!!!" she yelled, while huge amounts of wind emanated from her hands. The Mazoku then hit the floor in no time, while Gourry came and stabbed it with his sword. "Great going, Gourry!", Lina smiled.

Gourry put up his thumb, "Always a team, Lina!"

"Time to end all this!!!!" said Lina, while staying in flight. Suddenly, red energy started engulfing her "Darkness from twilight, crimson from blood that flow" she started chanting. Gourry got immediately off the way of the spell, since he knew what was about to happen. "buried in the flow of time", Lina continued. Suddenly, she saw Luna up there with her "in Thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness!", the two sisters said in unison "Those who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess!". Then, both of them had enormous amounts of energy between their hands, and in a swift move, they released it in the form of a huge red wave "DRAGUUUUUUUUU SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAVE!!!!!!!!!", and both waves combined and hit the city.

In no time, a big part of the city got surrounded by a huge ball of energy, destroying effectively everything in their pass.

When the two sisters landed, Lina smiled at Luna, but in return she was only hit in her head.

"You stupid brat! I told you not to use magic! Look at what you've done now!!!"

Lina just nervously smiled "I'm... I'm... sorry... sis..."

"It will take us MONTHS... no, wait... YEARS to reconstruct this! If I got up there casting a Dragu Slave it wasn't for us to cast it together! It was to AVOID YOU from casting it!!!!"

Lina suddenly started crying like a baby "I'm... I'm sorry... sis...". Her eyes looked like ping pong balls.

Luna just had a sweat drop in the back of her head "This is why you don't hand this kind of works to amateurs!"

Crying, Lina fell to her knees while her tears seemed like rivers flowing from her eyes "But I'm no amateur!!!!"

"Oh will you stop crying, you baby!!!"

From the rubbles, a heavily damaged Gourry emerged "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow that HURTS!!!"

"Gourry-san. I'm sorry for what my idiotic sister did"

Still in the floor, crying, Lina said "But you were the one that got up there with me and started chanting the spell too!"

Luna ran towards Lina, and gave her a look that would've scared any Mazoku in the world. Her eyes seemed to be made of fire and the smile on her face just didn't seem right "What... did... you just say?"

Lina just let go a huge scream and backed away rapidly "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry"

Luna got up and with her normal calm face she looked at Gourry "Well, Gourry-san. I hope nothing serious happened to you"

Gourry just smiled with a hand behind his head "Nah, nothing serious at least. I've survived DIRECT Dragu Slaves. But I have to say, that was one impressive show you two put up there"

"Well", said Luna smiling "don't get used to it"

"Wha...?"

"Lina-neechan..." said Luna.

"Y... yes... m'am..." said Lina, crawling her way back to Luna.

"As I said before. I forbid you from casting magic from now on"

Lina got up, "But... But... Luna-neesama..."

Luna then said "but I know you will still cast magic even if I forbid you to. So you leave me no choice but..." she then started drawing a magic symbol, a circled star, in the air, which in turn started shining red.A huge star then appeared below Lina, and a cold breeze ran through her.

"L... Luna-neesama!!!"

Luna just smiled at both of them "Well, I'll be going now. Oh, and if you ever ran into Helena again, make sure you send her my regards!!!!" and she left the city in no time.

Lina felt how despair was getting the best of her, and fell to her knees "I can't believe... what... she just did..."

"What happened, Lina?"

"She... she just sealed my magic away!!!!!!"

"SHE DID WHAT!?!?!?!"

'What will I do now!? Luna stripped me from my magic, and then there's Helena, who wants me to destroy one of Shabranigdo's servants. But without magic, and Gourry without the Sword of Light... what will we do!?'

(To be continued...)


	2. Episode 2

'Its me, Lina Inverse! I was summoned to Atlas City by the mysterious Helena. Once we got there, we found out that its inhabitants had been trapped inside the Astral Plane! Who could be behind this!? And in the middle of the questions, my dreadful sister Luna Inverse made her appearance, scolding me for my recklesness! After an incredible Double Dragu Slave from both of us, she made her intentions clear and punished me by taking away my powers!!! What is a beautiful sorceress like me to do!?!?!'

**Slayers AGAIN**

_Episode 2:_** "Get my magic back! On the road to Saillune!"**

"FLARE ARROW!"

"Its no use, Lina. You've been trying for almost an hour now!", said Gourry while a sweat drop appeared in his forehead.

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP! GAAV F... no wait, that doesn't work anymore. FIREBALL!!"

"So that makes three fireballs, two flare arrows, SIX attempts at Dragu Slave... Come on Lina you even tried the Ragna Blade!!!!!"

"I HAVE AMPLIFIERS!!! I should be able to AT LEAST CAST... Lightning!!!!" Lina raised her hands, but nothing happened.

"Lina..."

"THIS CAN'T BE! DRAGU SLAVE! DRAGU SLAVE! DRAGU SLAVEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!", but only smoke came from her hands, even after the second time she actually hit Gourry while trying to invoke de Dragu Slave. After all her attempts, she just fell to the floor, helpless "No..." her voice was gloomy and depressed, not like the usual cheerful and bad tempered Lina "This... can't...be...!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Lina... Come on. Don't you think we better... leave this place?" said Gourry, after noticing that over 10 Mazoku had been surrounding them.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!! RAY WING!!!", Lina yelled, getting up and grabbing Gourry by his long hair, dragging him away from the City. Sadly, nothing happened with her incantation, and she only tripped over to find a Mazoku staring at her in the eye. She quickly got up and started running for her life.

Once they were finally outside the city, Lina started breathing heavily "We don't stand a chance against the Mazoku like this!!!"

"What do you mean 'we'? I can fight at least one of them perfectly fine with my sword" Gourry smiled triumphant.

Lina got up and hit him in the head "You moron! you might stand a chance against ONE Mazoku, but you wouldn't DEFEAT him!!!"

"What do you mean? I took away two of them yesterday!"

"Those weren't even slightly powerful!!!!"

"Bah, you're just exaggerating"

"WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, DRIVE ME NUTS!?!?", said Lina hiting him over and over again.

"OUCH LINA! You sure are grumpy today!!!"

"WHAT DID YOU EXPECT YOU SAD ATTEMPT AT AN ANT'S BRAIN!!! I JUST GOT RIPPED AWAY FROM MY POWERS!!!!"

"Well... if I remember correctly there IS a magic doctor in Saillune... what was her name?"

Lina suddenly changed her raging face to inquiry and then complete bliss!, "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU JUST REMEMBERED THAT! YOU CAN BARELY REMEMBER YOUR OWN NAME AND YOU ACTUALLY REMEMBERED SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED AGES AGO!!!!!" she yelled smiling.

"huh?"

Lina and Gourry had been walking for a few hours, and they were still a few days away from Saillune. Nevertheless, Lina was extremely confident about the results of their errand. The last time Lina met Runan the sorcery doctor was about eight months ago, when they were on the verge of confronting Chaos Dragon Gaav. Something similar had happened to her at that time, but it was a curse inflicted by a Mazoku. This time it was a seal put by her own sister.

"By the way, Lina", said Gourry.

"What is it?"

"Luna-san told me what happened years ago, back in Zefielia". Lina turned blue at that mere comment.

"Wha... what did she tell you" she said in a gloomy voice.

"How you projected images of her in the bath for the amusement of the town"

Lina was pale by now "And how did... she... react..."

Gourry put a finger in his chin and looked up "She didn't seem very pleased by the mere memory of that"

Lina fell on her behind by that comment "So she... hasn't forgotten yet... and its already been what, 4 years..."

"Still, Lina" Gourry said, staring at her "It wasn't very nice of you to be doing that"

"I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW!!!" she said. She never liked talking about this subject if she could avoid it. The mere memory of the sight her sister gave her at that time was enough to scare the life out of her "That..." she was embarrased by that comment "was the main reason why I became a sorceress"

"Huh?"

"Nevermind..." Lina said, holding her forehead with one hand, sighing.

They kept walking for a few more hours, when nightfall came. They were still a few hours away from the next town.

"Another nameless town, Lina?", Gourry asked.

"Yeah. Well, that woman, Helena, she did pay me the hundred coins"

"Waaaaa, we can have such a feast with that!!!"

"Don't get your hopes so high yet, Gourry. We have to survive with this money until we get to Saillune. And even yet, we don't know if that little girl is gonna be able to help me"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, last time I had my powers sealed, it was a Mazoku that put a curse on me. This time... I have no idea what Luna did. And she is pretty powerful, you know"

"I noticed. That Dragu Slave of hers was definitely something"

"That Dragu Slave must have been only one eigth of her full power. She IS a Knight of Ceiphied after all..."

"A knight of who?"

Lina fell flat down on her face when Gourry said that. When she got up, she had an angry smile on her face "I can't believe I've been hanging out with you for almost a year... and you still haven't gotten the slightest idea of what the heck is going on in the world"

After a few hours, they got to the town. It was fairly late and they were incredibly hungry; the supplies they took from the inn in Atlas had already ran out.

Lina's stomach was actually roaring "I can barely move myself"

"Same here..." said Gourry with a gloomy face.

"Ok, let's find the nearest inn", said Lina.

The town was fairly common: wooden and adobe houses built in marsh terrain. Nothing really stood out, and it seemed more like a village than a town. Only a few were walking in the streets, given that it was pretty late by now. They entered the nearest inn they found, called "Inn".

As soon as they were inside, they sat down in one of the wooden tables.

"Waiter!!! Get us dinner for five!!!!" yelled Lina.

"Wow, you sure are generous today"

Lina blinked "Well, we might as well make the best about what happened in Atlas" then her expression changed. She was definitely worried "But a hundred gold coins isn't worth my magic powers. I need to get them back if we are to do a living..."

Gourry then put his hand on the table "What are you talking about, Lina!? That's what I'm here for! I'm your protector!"

A sweatdrop fell through Lina's forehead "I know, Gourry. Its just that I really don't feel confortable being so vulnerable..."

"Don't you worry about that" smiled Gourry "I'll protect you until you get your powers back"

Lina blushed, "Gourry...". It was only a matter of seconds until she noticed that Gourry was eating all the food that was already in the table by himself.

"This is REALLY GOOD!!!" he said with his mouth full.

"HEY, GOURRY!!!!", she said stabbing Gourry in his hand with her fork.

"OW OW OW!!!! Lina, that HURTS!!!". And then, they started struggling about food as always.

After dinner, Lina's stomach was halfway her breasts. She had eaten so much that she could barely move. "This is great!!!"

Gourry seemed a bit dissappointed, "And you still ate my food"

"Ah, stop complaining, Gourry"

The tavern was pretty loud at the moment, but everyone went silent as soon as the door slammed. Lina raised her head and looked at the familiar black hood.

"Isn't that..." said Gourry

"Yeah... Yo, Helena!" said Lina without standing up, waving at her.

A sweatdrop appeared over Helena's hood, as she walked towards her.

"Hello, Lina Inverse-dono, Gourry Gabriev-dono"

"Drop the fomralities, please", said Lina.

"Alright. So, you have made it this far without magic powers"

Lina gave her a confident smile "Yes, and why am I not surprised you know about this. You ARE an acquaintance of Luna, aren't you?"

"You could say so"

"So what is this all about? First you contact me to vanquish one of the Dark Lord's servants, and right after that, big sis comes and seals my powers"

"Let's say that our interest differ a little"

"I don't think my sister would be wanting to cooperate with any of Shabranigdo's servants"

"Its not like that at all", said Helena in her trademark deep voice.

"So, what brings you here?"

"I want to ask you once again. Would you fight and vanquish one of the Dark Lord Shabranigdo's servants?"

Lina fell flat on the table. Once she got up, she had a nervious smile "What are you talking about, Helena? You said you KNEW I don't have any powers now"

"That is not an issue"

"What are you talking about?"

"No need for concert now. Will you aide me?"

"No way in hell", said Lina.

"Very well", said Helena and got up. "I will be leaving now". She then headed for the door, but Lina stopped her.

"Hey Helena!", she said.

Helena turned around and looked at her, "What is it?"

"Do you know where my sister was headed?"

"I have no idea", she said, and retreated.

"What was that all about?", Gourry asked.

"I have no idea, but both she and sis are up to something. I can feel it. I really don't want to mess up with my sister, but this has been way too much of a coincidence already... maybe when we get to Saillune..."

"Well, let's go to bed already. I'm dead tired"

"Yeah, me too", said Lina, yawning.

As soon as they were getting up, one of the persons that was in the Tavern came to them.

"Excuse me...", he said. He had short brown hair and matching eyes, wearing simple outfits. Certainly someone not very important.

"Yes?", said Lina.

"Are you... Lina Inverse?", he said

Lina wasn't surprised at all "Yeah, yeah, its me"

Suddenly all the tavern was looking at them. "WHOAAAAAAAAAA!!! DRA-MATA LINA INVERSE!!!!", some of them yelled. Suddenly, a whole bunch of beers appeared in front of them

"D...ra... ma..ta..!?" Lina said EXTREMELY displeased.

"Yeah, you know", said the man "'So repulsive that even a dragon wouldn't dare to step on her'!!!"

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!!!!" She yelled, grabbing the man by his neck and choking her.

"I...m... so...rr...y..." barely said the man.

Gourry was worried, "Yo Lina, calm down"

"THIS GUY JUST CALLED ME REPULSIVE! SO REPULSIVE THAT NOT EVEN A DRAGON WOULD STEP ON ME!!!!"

Gourry put his index on his chin, looking up "Well, if I recall correctly, it IS true... at least that one time, a long time ago...", but suddenly, Lina's arms were around HIS neck. She had stepped over the table and started choking Gourry from behind.

"AND NOW YOU TELL ME YOUR MEMORY STARTS WORKING, YOU JELLYFISH BRAINS!!!!"

But surprisingly, the whole tavern was cheering even more. Gourry and Lina stopped dead on, surprised at their attitude.

"Dra-mata! Dra-mata! Dra-mata!!" they started yelling.

Lina's forehead vein started growing at a really fast pace. "And she's even flat-chested too!!!". That heard, she was pissed right on.

"FIREBALL!!!!!!!" she yelled, but only smoke came out of her hands. The town cheered even more.

"Wow, you sure are a blast here, Lina", said Gourry.

She was so pissed off that she could barely talk "I would definitely blast this place...", she said.

The man got up from the floor and smiled at Lina "Thank God you are here, Lina Inverse!"

Lina forcefully calmed down and sat down "So why THE HELL are you so glad I'm here!?" there were still people yelling "Dra-Mata" in the background, "AND WILL YOU PLEASE TELL THEM TO SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!!!!!!"

"Its just that you have quite a reputation! And we are in desperate need of help!"

Lina fixed her hair and looked at the man. The Tavern had gone back to normal once again "I'm sorry, pal, but I don't think I could help you right now"

"Why!?" said the man "It shouldn't be trouble for such a powerful and renowned sorceress!"

Lina felt like a hammer fell down to her head, "I'm... sure... it shouldn't..."

"We've been having some troubles lately. A band of thieves, The Dark Daggers, have been terrifying us lately... they've been robbing us, stealing our women and we're pretty much defenseless. We're just a farming town"

Lina was pondering what the man was saying, and Gourry got worried, "Lina?"

"How much are you willing to pay?"

"Well, we don't have much, but will five hundred gold coins be enough?"

Gourry still couldn't believe what Lina was thinking about doing "Lina!!! Are you..."

"We take the job", said Lina.

Suddenly, the whole tavern started cheering again.

Up in Lina's room, Gourry still wasn't able to believe what Lina had done. "You said it yourself! We shouldn't be looking for trouble until you find a cure to your condition!"

"Don't worry Gourry", smiled Lina "I have a plan. You heard the guy. I have a very strong reputation, so as long as those bandits make sure they're dealing with me, we shouldn't have real problems. And if something happens... I have a few aces up my sleeves", she smiled.

Gourry lowered his head, and a sweatdrop appeared in his forehead "I just KNOW this isn't gonna go anywhere good..."

"Oh will you calm down, Gourry", said Lina, getting up and pushing Gourry away from her room "Now get out. We gotta sleep! G'night!!!", she said and closed the door.

After only a few seconds she turned around and smiled "I know you're watching me, I might have lost my powers but I can definitely feel a peeping tom"

Suddenly, out of nowhere Xelloss appeared wearing his trademark outfit, floating in the air like he was siting in a comfortable chair.

"Why Lina-san! It's been quite a while!", he said.

"I know you're not here just for the heck of it, Xelloss. You always have some ulterior motives", she smiled "Now what is it?"

"Well, can't I just come and say hi to an old friend?"

"Old friend...", Lina smiled sarcastically "Since when do Mazoku have friends?"

"Oh you are harsh, Lina-san. Well, I just happened to overhear your plan, and I decided to come and offer my help"

Lina didn't like the idea of being overheard, and her expression showed it, "'Overheard', huh? Well, I don't think you're here just out of pure sympathy..."

"Well, you are right", Xelloss smiled.

"So why are you here?"

"That, Lina-san..." Xelloss said, and raised his index finger "That-is-a-se-cret" he said. "Now, will you accept my offer?"

"Well, it would certainly make things easier with that gang... Just make sure if I cast anything you make it look like I casted it in the first place"

"So I was the 'ace up your sleeve' you told Gourry-san a while ago?"

"Well, I'm not stupid enough to accept a job I probably couldn't do if I didn't know you were spying on us"

"Oh, Lina-san, spying is such a harsh word"

"But it is what you were doing"

"Well, I'll be going now", said Xelloss and dissappeared "See you tomorrow!"

The next morning, both Gourry and Lina were ready, and Lina made sure not to tell Gourry about her full plans. 'Knowing Mr. No Brains At All he would definitely blow my cover with the bandits. I don't think I'd want that anytime soon', she said while a sweatdrop appeared behind her head.

"Are you gonna tell me what this plan of yours is, Lina? I know you're gonna scare them and everything, but..."

Lina smiled confidently "Don't worry, Gourry. Everything will be alright", she said while looking at her back. For a brief second she could see the purple haired Mazoku smiling at her with his eyes closed, as usual. In just a blink of an eye, he dissappeared.

Gourry sighed, "I hope so..."

As soon as they got to the tavern's first floor, the man that asked for their help the day before was waiting for them, "Lina Inverse-sama!", he yelled "You are really going to save us!"

Lina laughed confidently "Why yes, the beautiful sorcery genius Lina Inverse WILL save your town!!!"

"Not so much for his sorry companion", Gourry said with a very down look.

"Alright, where is the bandits hideout!!!", yelled a confident Lina.

"Please Lina, don't be such a brat...", said Gourry, but Lina was laughing anyway.

The man was pleased to no end, his eyes were shining and his smile was incredible, "They're right in the outskirts of town. You'll see a big hill going east. Right next to it, in the forest, there's a cave"

"PIECE OF CAKE!!!" yelled Lina.

"And this isn't going to end well, I'm sure of it..." said Gourry, almost crying. He then followed Lina in her march, literally, while the whole town was cheering them until they left. Between the crowd that had formed around Lina and Gourry, Xelloss appeared.

"This is going to be very interesting!", he said with his characteristic smile and then promptly dissappeared.

After a few minutes, Lina and Gourry had already reached the hill described by the man back in the tavern.

"So now we have to go through the forest and find that cave, don't we?", said Gourry.

"Wow, its amazing you can remember that much. Yeah, we go through the forest, he said it would be no more than ten minutes walk to the west"

"Alright", said Gourry, and they begun their walk. After no more than ten minutes, they actually reached the cave and found a group of about five people outside, guarding the entrance.

"Ok, so here is how we proceed", said Lina "I go on advertising my name and in case anything goes wrong -meaning they don't run for their lives-, you come in"

"Lina... I have a bad feeling about this"

"Oh will you shut up now, Gourry. Stop being such a baby and do as I say. My plan is going to do wonders", she smiled confidently.

"If you say so..."

They waited for about five minutes until a few of the people in the group had gone inside the cave, 'Bandits can be so generic at times', she said with a sweatdrop in her forehead and a nervous smile. Just a few seconds later, Lina rushed outside her hiding and appeared in front of the bandits.

"WHO ARE YOU!?" said one of the three guards that stayed behind, guarding the entrance to the cave.

"Why I am the sorcery genius, Bandit Killer, Lina Inverse!!!!" she yelled, making sure everyone inside the cave heard her name.

After a few seconds without any answer Lina thought, 'They're so terrified that they can't even move' while smiling.

"WHO THE HELL IS LINA INVERSE!?" yelled one of the guards to someone inside the cave.

"I HAVE NO IDEA!!!" yelled someone from inside "JUST GET RID OF HER!!!"

Lina had a huge sweatdrop in her face "Gourry..." she said, but nothing happened. "Go... Gourry!?" she said nervously, while the guards where approaching her. Suddenly from inside the cave, a light appeared.

"FIREBALL!", Lina heard, and a huge fireball appeared right towards her.

"OH GOD! JUST THE ONE THIEF GANG THAT DOESN'T KNOW MY NAME AND CARRIES A SORCERER WITH THEM HAD TO BE, RIGHT!? SO BE IT, FREEZE ARROW!!!!" she yelled, while pointing to the fireball. However, only smoke came from her hand. "Huh!?!? XELLOSS!!! GOURRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" She yelled while running like there was no tomorrow. The fireball hit her and blew up, and she was left scorched in the floor, a few steps away from where she was originally standing "Ow ow ow ow ow!!!!" she cried.

Suddenly, Xelloss appeared in front of her, "I'm sorry, Lina-san", Xelloss smiled, "But Beastmaster-sama summoned me and I won't be able to help you", he said.

"WHAT!??!?!?!" yelled Lina "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU TELL ME THIS NOW OF ALL TIMES!!! GOURRY!!! GOURRY!!!!! WHERE THE HELL IS THAT IDIOTIC PIECE OF JELLYFISH BRAINS!!!!"

Xelloss had a big sweatdrop in his forehead, and just smiled at Lina, "I'm sorry, Lina-san, but it really seems you are in a pinch. Well, I'll see you later!", he said and dissappeared.

"GOURRY, GOURRY, GOURRY!!!!!!" she yelled while she ran away from the bandits that were following her.

"Flare Arrow!!" she listened, and a big red spear barely missed her.

"And a damn powerful sorcerer too!!!!" she cried, got up, and started running again "GOURRY!!!!!!!"

As soon as she got into the forest, she hit her face right into someone with a large cleavage.

"I'm terribly so..." said an embarrased Lina but then she noticed that the firey eyes of her sister had been staring at her.

"L...ina..." said Luna with an evil smirk.

Lina couldn't believe what she was seeing. First a gang of bandits who didn't know who she was and screwed her plans and now her sister was right there, ready to finish her off.

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Lina yelled, and started running in the opposite direction.

Luna sighed and pointed at the bandits, effortlessly "Fireball..." and everything in that direction blew up, Lina included.

"That... wasn't... necessary..." said a burnt Lina.

"OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!!! This hurts!!!! And just where the heck where you!!!!" said Luna while being treated with alcohol by Gourry while laying in one of the Inn's bed "Sis... you could use a healing spell on me...", she said.

Luna just ignored her, instead just kept looking out the room's window.

"Well, Luna-san here told me to come here, that she'd deal with you"

Lina was still scared that her sister was there and she wanted to 'deal' with her. Luna then got away from the window and walked towards Lina, getting really close to her, which frightened the hell outta her, "I'll be going now. When I say no magic, Lina, I mean it"

"But Luna-neesama! I can't..."

"You know what I mean", she said, and then walked away.

"Wow, she sure is harsh to you", said Gourry. Right after Luna closed the door, they felt a huge quake in the inn.

"What!?", said Lina getting up, still a bit hurt.

"Something is going on downstairs!"

"No kidding!" she yelled and put her cape on quickly, while running downstairs. Gourry quickly followed her.

"What's going on!", yelled Lina, when she noticed that all the citizens were staring extremely scared outside. The man that asked for her help ran to her again, "Its... its... A MONSTER!!!", he yelled, while running upstairs.

"A monster? MAZOKU!?" said Lina, while running outside.

"No, Lina! You're too weak! And besides you don't have magic powers! You'll just get yourself killed!!!", Gourry yelled, but Lina did not listen.

Outside, a huge beast about three meters high, with two disgusting fangs comming down from its mouth was standing in front of the inn. It had four red eyes and pointy ears, and a torso disproportional to its head. Luna was on the floor, next to the Mazoku, and the Inn had an indent where the Mazoku had hit it and caused the quake Lina and Gourry felt moments before.

"Sis!!!!", Lina yelled when she saw Luna laying on the floor, waiting for the Mazoku to deliver a final blow.

The Mazoku then turned to Lina, and it seemed like it smiled "Ahhh... Lina Inverse" it said with a deep thundorous voice.

"M...me!?"

"Yes, two for one, Lina Inverse and the Knight of Ceiphied! This is excellent!", the Mazoku said and then turned to Lina. It was about to hit her with one of its huge crab-like claws when Gourry came out of nowhere and stopped it with his sword, sturggling like he had never before.

"Get out of here, Lina!!!"

"Gourry!!", yelled Lina.

The Mazoku seemed displeased "Another human? And you are trying to interfere? It makes no difference, I will finish you off too!"

Lina didn't know what to do, a Mazoku was in the middle of the town and Gourry was fighting for his life. No, not for his life, for HER life. And then there was Luna, who was unconscious on the floor.

"For this bastard to have taken down sis, he must be a VERY powerful monster... unless he caught her off guard, which is most likely... What should I do!!', she thought.

Gourry lost balance of his sword and almost received a hit full force of the monster's claws, but dodged it right away. He leaped to the right and confronted the Mazoku from one of his flanks. He rushed against the monster and laid a certain stab in its side, which made it scream. Lina watched this scene extremely scared.

"Gourry!!!", she yelled.

"Don't worry about me, Lina! Take Luna-san and run!!" he yelled while taking off his sword from the monster's flank and blocking a powerful attack from its claws.

"I will end this quick, human", said the Mazoku, when his four eyes began glowing.

Lina took out her sword and charged the monster, "NO WAY IN HELL YOU'RE DOING ANYTHING TO MY FRIENDS!!!", she yelled, but the monster created a third arm and blocked her attack with his claw.

"You are eager to die, Lina Inverse!!!" said the Mazoku, and grabbed Lina with his claw and started squeezing her.

"LINA!!!", yelled Gourry. He ran to her trying to cut off the monster's arm, but it was useless.

Suddenly, from behind the Mazoku, Luna's voice was heard, "Wasn't it me who you were after?", she said.

The Mazoku turned around "Ah? Knight of Ceiphied! It is not only you who I am after!"

"Huh!?" she said in surprise.

The strength the Mazoku was applying to Lina had already begun to take a toll on her, as she started having dificulty breathing. 'Dammit... I can't... think... clearly! Gourry... Sis... I have... to... try...', she thought.

Suddenly, the Mazoku begun hearing something comming from Lina, "Huh? What is it?", it said "A dying prayer from a little ant? Bah, you were no danger to us as I was told", and then started laughing.

"Crimson from the blood that flows..." Lina was chanting. Unlike those countless other times she had used this spell, nothing happened to her surrounding.

"What are you doing?", he said. On her side, Luna was surprised.

'Is this... no, it can't be. I sealed it away!', she thought.

"Those who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess! DRAGU SLAVE!!", Lina yelled, and from her hands a void started taking shape, drawing everything into it, including the Mazoku, which was yelling in pain.

"NO!!! THIS CAN'T BE!!!" the Mazoku yelled.

Once the Mazoku was completely obliterated, Lina's arms kept sucking things into them.

"LINA!!!", yelled Gourry.

"Stand aside, Gourry-san!", Luna yelled. Once Lina fell graciously from where the monster had a hold of her, they noticed her eyes were completely blank. Then, she fell to her back.

After a few hours, Lina opened her eyes and noticed she was once again back in her room in the inn.

"Go...gourry..." she said, when the first thing her eyes met was him, staring at her.

"Don't you dare pull anything like that again!", he yelled in anger.

"Wha... what happened?"

"I don't know what you did, but you killed the monster. But Luna said you took an incredible danger at that. DON'T DO THAT AGAIN"

"What... what did I do!?" Lina said surprised "I can remember trying to cast a Dragu Slave... but..."

"What do you mean? You don't remember anything? How you literaly sucked the Mazoku inside you... or something?"

"No..." Lina said, worried.

"Just... don't do it again!"

Lina then got up "Gourry..." she smiled.

Gourry smiled back and stood up from her bed, "Well, you better rest. We still have a long way to Saillune"

"And Luna? Where is she?"

"She left right after we got you in the inn. She was pretty mad if you ask me..." he said "She can surely be scary when mad.."

Lina's face turned blue and a sweatdrop fell from her forehead "She can be scary even when NOT mad..." she said "Boy am I gonna get it this time..."

"You sure are", smiled Gourry, "Now get ready", he sad while opening the door "I think you've rested enough, and we need to get your powers back!"

"You're right!" she said and immediately got up. Then, she noticed she was wearing her pajamas. She blushed immediately.

"What is it, Lina?", said Gourry, while noticing how her sight was down and a sweatdrop ran through her head.

"Did... you... put... me... in... my... pijamas?!?" she said.

"Yeah, of course!", said Gourry "Lina left and I didn't feel like letting you sleep in those uncomfortable clothes!"

Lina ran towards him with her face red and her eyes that seemed made of fire "YOU PERVERT!!!!!!!!!".

Outside the inn, Xelloss was watching all this "How entertaining!", he smiled "Is this what you were expecting to happen... Beastmaster-sama?", he said and then dissappeared.

From the window, inside Lina's room, they could be seen having an incredible fight.

'What did just happen? But that's nothing to get worried about now! We need to get to Saillune to get my powers back! And off we go!!"

(To be continued...)


	3. Episode 3

'The beautiful sorcery genius Lina Inverse, and that's ME, got out of Atlas City and went to Saillune to grab a cure for the seal her sister Luna put into her magic powers. Who would've think that both Luna and Helena were on the same way as we ended up in the same town. Luna, Gourry and I ended up fighting a nasty Mazoku that for some reason wanted to kill both my sister and me!! After an incredibly desperate attempt to save Go-err I mean my life, I tried a Dragu Slave, but something went wrong!! The Mazoku ended up dying anyway, but boy am I gonna get it this time for not obeying my sister...'

**Slayers AGAIN**

_Episode 3:_ **"Atonement! The five hundred year old guilt trip"**

"And the house has been sealed since then", the old man said, with his large white hair and thick matching moustache, blinking repeatedly, barely showing his gray eyes. Lina and Gourry had arrived in the town of Sierra a few days earlier. Once they got there, an old man greeted them as a "tourist guide", he had said. Lina had no idea Sierra, a small town a few days walk from The Great Holy Capital of Saillune, was a touristic attraction, but it definitely felt that way. Street markets were a landmark in the main street of the small town, and they were always full.

Lina had a zip of her tea and listened carefully, and then, after the man had finished, she commented seriously "So the man has been locked into his own house for burning both his wife and child"

"Yes", said the old man with an almost broken voice. He had offered himself to guide them through town (and of course all the restaurants where local cuisine would be served) for only two gold coins. Lina had smiled and accepted her offer, despite Gourry had protested. He was listening to the story, but his brains, as always, remained turned off.

"And no one has been able to enter in five hundred years...", said Lina, and then had some more tea.

"Exactly. It has already been five hundred and two years, to be exact. Some say that he is still alive in there, mourning his wife and daughter"

Lina put her cup back in the table, laid her back in the chair and stretched "Sounds like nothing more than a local legend, but...", Lina said and then turned to Gourry "...if the door has been sealed for five hundred years, and the guy was indeed a sorcerer AND a smith, we might be able to get you a new sword, Gourry!". Lina then noticed Gourry had been snoring all the time. She immediately landed her fist on the top of his head, waking him up abruptly "WAKE UP, YOU JELLYFISH FOR BRAINS!!!", she yelled.

"Ow ow, Lina!! You don't have to be that harsh!", he rejected.

"Well old man", said Lina and took out ten gold coins from her bag "Here you go. Thank you for the city tour"

The old man smiled gracefully and bowed, saying "Thank you very much" and then left.

"So what's the deal?", said Gourry.

"We're still a few days away from Saillune", she smiled "And we still are short on strength. Should we be attacked by a Mazoku, and I'm pretty sure we will sooner than later, we'll be in a very high disadvantage. I'm not willing to try a Dragu Slave again, at least not after I get my powers back, and if we get attacked by a powerful Mazoku like before, your sword will be no good against him"

"What about Luna-san?", said Gourry.

Lina shivered at the mere mention of her name "Sh-She won't be around every single time we get attacked. I don't think it was a coincidence though that we ran into her that day"

"You mean..."

"Helena. She definitely has a connection to what is happening in Atlas, and so does Sis, and they are definitely connected to one another", she said having the last zip of her tea "We might not find out right now what are both Helena AND Sis after, but if we don't run into Helena, I'm pretty sure Sis won't show up AND we won't be attacked by any Mazoku. Sis has a sixth sense, if you will, for that kind of things"

"Well, then we gotta find me another sword!" he said

"Have you even been listening to what I've been saying...?", said Lina, holding her forehead with one hand while a sweatdrop ran from the other end.

A few minutes away from town, a wooden cottage was left alone, with grass and vegetation growing wild around it. Most people in town wouldn't go near it, and it was considered one of Sierra's most valuable landmarks in terms of tourism. However, most tourists would just go near the house and then just leave, for fear of the actual legend being true. From the north end, Lina and Gourry walked closer to it.

"So this is it...", said Lina.

"And what was that legend again...?", asked Gourry puzzled, but Lina just couldn't stand it and hit him in his head.

"THE OLD MAN ALREADY TOLD US!!! But I guess you were too busy SLEEPING!", she yelled, "Fine, I'll go through it once more. Five hundred years ago, a famous sorcerer and smith for some reason started researching on making the one sword that would compare itself to the Sword of Light, but the research took away most of his time. Once he was testing out the sword's magic powers, his daughter and wife came in, and he accidentally burned them to death. Filled with sorrow, he locked himself into his own house and ever since no one has ever been able to open the house's door"

"Aaaah... so this guy must have been really powerful"

"You could say so. A magic smith is not something you see every day, and as I told you, we might be able to find you a new sword"

"Alright! So let's go inside!", yelled Gourry, running towards the house.

"Gourry!", said Lina, but he didn't listen to her and ran towards the door. Once he was in front of it, he proceeded to open it, but instead, a huge lightning discharge blew him right where he started, next to Lina.

"OW ow ow ow ow", he whined.

Lina held her forehead with her hand and sighed "This is gonna be one long adventure..."

They walked towards the door and Lina examined it for a while, "I don't know, it seems like some powerful magic was used to seal this off"

"How're we gonna open it?"

"Well, we don't have any magic, nor the sword of light... so I guess we should start thinking of some other means..."

Suddenly, they heard a familiar voice behind them "Like me?"

"Xelloss!!", said both Lina and Gourry while turning around and noticing the purple-haired Trickster Priest floating right next to them. He then landed and was put on level with them.

"What are you doing here, Xelloss?", said Lina, still mad about what had happened previously with the bandits.

"Well, I'm here to help you, Lina-san! Gourry-san!"

"Than...!!" Gourry tried to say, but Lina interrupted him.

"Because..." then she started mimicking Xelloss "'Beastmaster-sama told me that...' CRAP! You're here to use us in some way!", she said.

"And... you already figured that out", said Xelloss disappointed.

"We'd have to be STUPID not to figure that out! You've used us AT LEAST THREE TIMES already!"

"Xelloss has used us?", said a puzzled Gourry, and Lina and Xelloss both fell to their backs.

"So what you want to do is get in here and take that supposedly powerful sword and then leave, right?", inquired Xelloss with a puzzled look.

"Basically, yes", said Lina.

"Have you ever heard the legend?", Xelloss asked.

"Yeah, and that's why we really wanna get in there"

"Fine then", said Xelloss and snapped his fingers, "Done".

Both Lina and Gourry were extremely surprised and fell on their backs when they saw the door open by itself.

"AND THAT WAS IT!?", yelled Lina.

"Quite simple, if you ask me, just a magic lock, no big science"

"Well I don't have any powers now!!", she yelled back at him.

In turn, Xelloss only smiled "Well, this is all you need now. Go get that sword", he said and then disappeared.

"This Xelloss, he can seriously get on my nerves. Anyway, let's go, Gourry!"

"Let's go!", he said, and ran towards the house.

Once inside, they noticed there was no light. Even if the cottage from outside seemed to be quite a small place, from the inside it was something else. They couldn't see anything but themselves, but the area surely felt huge.

"What's the deal with all this, Lina?"

"I have no idea. I think we may have entered another dimension. What a sorcerer this guy must have been...", she said in awe "Alright, Gourry. We gotta find that sword and get out of here. We have no idea what we might find"

"Well then", he said unsheathing his sword "We better be prepared"

"Damn, I can't cast lighting. We're gonna have to use regular lamps. Lucky I have a few", Lina said while checking her cape "Huh?" she said, double-checking. In no time, she was checking all over her outfit.

"What is it, Lina?"

"MY LAMPS! THEY'RE GONE!!!", she yelled.

On the outside, Xelloss was floating in front of the house with the big smile that always bothered Lina so much. He then pulled out the three lamps he took earlier from Lina's cape and made them float in front of him, to his own amusement.

"This should make things a bit more interesting", he smiled, and then disappeared.

Lina calmed down, "This is bad, Gourry. We have no idea what we'll find in here", suddenly, all the lights went on and a masked figure appeared before them. He wore a black top hat and a cape that covered all his body. The mask was creepy, with carvings for his eyes and just a wide mouth that ran from one edge to the other in a sick twisted smile.

"How did you manage to enter", asked the man in a very deep voice.

"Are you Treis Laguld?", asked Lina. Gourry was about to ask something, but Lina just held his mouth.

"Yes, it is me. I have been wandering here for the past five centuries, without finding any rest because of the sins I committed", he said, still very deeply.

"What happened here?", said Lina.

"The inside of this house has transformed over the centuries to match my delirium"

Lina wasn't shocked, but she still felt as if this was a bit over the top, "I think this is way too overdone for being a town touristic attraction"

Gourry didn't understand anything that was going on, "So we're not inside the house?"

"Technically yes, we are", said Lina "But when Treis Laguld died, he probably left his spirit wandering inside this house, and since he hasn't been able to leave for the past five hundred years, he probably fused his spirit to this house. You could say we are right now in his in loins"

Gourry seemed sick, "That sounds nasty"

"As nasty as it can get", said Lina.

The man then raised his hands, revealing a black and white tuxedo below his cape, "What is it you seek", said Treis.

"We are seeking for the sword you were forging", said Lina.

"I am sorry", said the man, "but that sword will not leave this house...", and a bright light came from his body.

"Its beginning", said Xelloss standing on the top of the house's roof with his sinister eyes fully opened, "Let's see how well they do. If you manage to come out, Lina-san, Gourry-san, you'll have a very powerful sword in your hands. One that can even match Gorun Nova".

Treis had disappeared, but in his place a bunch of overgrown bugs were left behind. About three cockroaches and two slugs.

"SLUGS!!!!!!!!!!" yelled Lina, running towards Gourry and hugging him "I HATE SLUGS! KILL THEM, KILL THEM!!!!!" she yelled, while frenetically pointing at them with her face pressed against Gourry's torso.

Gourry unsheathed and slashed the two slugs in the blink of an eye.

"ARE THEY GONE!?!?!" yelled Lina, with her eyes still closed. Once she opened them, she noticed she was on her knees, and embarrassingly got up. Gourry had taken care of both slugs and the two cockroaches.

"What was this all about?"

"I... I don't know" said Lina "But I don't think he's just playing games".

"What do you mean?"

Lina had already fully recovered, "He clearly doesn't want us to take the sword. And he probably just won't let us get out of himself that easy"

"HIMSELF!?"

Lina just had to hit him in his head again "I hope so many hits somehow rearrange those two brain cells in there! I already told you he fused with the house!"

"Oh... I don't get it", she said, and Lina just gave up trying to explain.

The surroundings they were in resembled a workshop, with a few tables and tools laying around in no particular order. On one end, there was a door.

Gourry went to the door, "Maybe this will get us out".

"I doubt it", Lina said, "It will probably take us to another part of Treis Laguld's subconscious. Talk about haunted houses..."

"You said it..."

"Anyway, I still find all of this very strange. No human, however strong willed, would be able to do things like this. I mean, however strong his spirit would have been, its pretty far fetched to think that he could somehow possess a whole house"

"But its still a small cottage", said Gourry.

"Its not a question of size, Gourry, its just that it's hard for me to believe that a human could have so much regret in order to do something like this..."

They decided to open the door, and inside they found a large corridor, with three doors on each side, and one on the end. Everything was eerily colored blue and that gave both Lina and Gourry an uneasy feeling.

"This is VERY weird, Lina", said Gourry.

"What would you expect, Gourry? Remember that we are INSIDE a ghost's body"

They walked some more until they reached the first pair of doors. One on the left and one on the right.

"What should we do?", Gourry asked.

"Easy", Lina smiled, "We've seen a lot of dungeons in our time, a lot of laboratories, a lot of underground ruins, lots of weird things. If this guy follows the 'mystery handbook'... these doors are just decoys"

Gourry opened his eyes in awe and a big smile formed in his face "So you really know these things, Lina!!"

Lina had a sweatdrop on her right temple, and said "And if your memory worked better than a goldfish's, you probably would too"

They moved towards the last door in the hallway and Lina stood next to it, leaned her back in the wall, crossed her arms around her chest and smiled, "So what surprise do you have behind this doors, Treis?"

Treis' voice echoed all over the hallway, "Open and you shall see"

Gourry looked everywhere, really frightened "Wow, you weren't kidding when you said we were INSIDE this guy!"

Lina's smile wouldn't come off "I guess we have no choice. You sure are one of a kind, Treis", she said sarcastically, and put her hand in the door knob, "Gourry, get your sword ready", she whispered.

Gourry unsheathed, "Ready it is"

Lina opened the door, and a bright light came out of it. As soon as it dissipated, Gourry went inside with his sword held in position. What they found was a child's room, with a big carrousel in the middle, big enough for a three year old to ride. It was powered by magic and it was still working.

"So this was your daughter's room", Lina said, but there was no answer. The walls were deformed and gave the whole room an eerie look, like some sort of spatial distortion was taking place.

"Talk about gloomy decorations...", said Gourry.

"This is probably part of his regret. He made an image of his own daughter's room and fit it where it could be better. This is very interesting, anyway"

"So where will we find this sword?"

"I don't think he's gonna let us find it that easily. Keep in mind that this is HIS body, he can play with it any way he likes"

"So we might never get out"

"I doubt it...", Lina said confidently, but her look said the opposite.

On the other end, there was another door, only that this one had no knob.

"No way to open it, huh?", Lina said, "Gourry, take out your sword and try smashing it."

Gourry obliged, and a small crack was formed, "Wow, and I just took a swing at it with all my might..."

"Just keep at it"

"Okay", said Gourry, and kept smashing it. After a few strokes, the door went down.

"He's making it way too easy for us..."

"What do you mean?"

"He could've let us out without us noticing it. I think there's more in here than what meets the eye"

Gourry sighed, "There's already more... so much more..."

The next room was another workshop, only smaller in scale and with fewer furniture and tools.

"This is probably where his daughter and wife passed away...", Lina said, pointing at a burnt mark in the floor.

"Fire?", Gourry asked.

"He was trying to imbue a sword with magical powers. We can now safely assume that they were fire-based magic. Shamanistic, certainly"

They moved on until they found two different doors. One was marked with a star and the other with a quarter moon.

"So he wants us separated?", said Lina "There's no way we're doing that, Treis", she smiled.

"What do you mean?"

"You see, he wants to get rid of us, he wants to mourn for the rest of eternity, so the easiest way is to have you go some place and have me go some other, specially since we're looking for the same thing. Sadly for you, Treis, I'm no average lady", she smiled.

"So where should we go?", said Gourry.

"Since we don't have Shilfiell with us to guide us with her priestess powers, we'll just have to go with guess. Let's take the right door", Lina said with the one marked with the star.

"Ok, let's go". Once they opened the door, they found a sword with its sheath floating in the middle of some sort of altar.

"What's going on?", said Lina.

"Hey, Lina! That's my line!", said Gourry.

"I'm sorry, its just that something isn't right...", she said.

Xelloss was standing in front of his master, Beastmaster Xellass-Metallium, somewhere unrecognizable to anyone. The place was basically an enormous crystal formation, placed somewhere only both Xelloss and Xellass-Metallium knew. Xellass-Metallium was an apparently young very chic woman, who wore chic revealing dresses. She was having a cup of wine with one hand and a cigarette with the other. Sitting in a very stylish throne, her tanned skin was shining against the light of a white crystal she had standing in front of her.

"Beastmaster-sama", Xelloss said. Xellass-Metallium took a zip of her wine while looking at her bright crystal screen, where suddenly Lina and Gourry appeared.

"Is everything ready?", she said with her deep voice, having a smoke from her cigarette.

Xelloss smiled at her, "Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev are taking the sword back. Though the Knight of Ceiphied sealed away Lina Inverse's powers"

"It does not matter, Xelloss. Her essence is much more than that of the Knight of Cepheid's"

"So your intentions..."

Xellass-Metallium smiled mysteriously, "Xelloss... that is a secret".

Xelloss looked at her with his merciless eyes and smiled back, and then disappeared.

As soon as Lina and Gourry approached the sword, Treis appeared before them.

"I forbid you from coming closer to this sword", he said.

"You almost guided us here!", said Lina.

"Touch this sword, and you will regret it", Laguld said with his already annoying to both Lina and Gourry deep voice, and then disappeared. He left three creatures that seemed like deform goblins, also tainted blue as the rest of the house.

"Gourry!!!", Lina yelled.

"HAAAAA!!!!" he yelled, unsheathing. He attacked the closest creature, the one that was next to Lina.

"This aren't illusions!", Lina yelled, unsheathing her own sword, "This isn't right!!!", she said fighting one of the goblins, who tried to bite her leg. She had landed her sword in the Goblin's head, and it just disappeared.

"What do you mean!?", said Gourry, fighting with the third goblin, finally cutting it in half, making it disappear instantly.

"Look...", she said, worried, pointing at the altar in the middle of the room. Suddenly, five more goblins appeared, "They will keep coming. I don't think this are created by Treis' regrets..."

"There's your main problem, Miss Lina Inverse", Treis' voice surrounded them, echoing everywhere.

"What!?", yelled Lina, fighting another goblin. They were easy to destroy in just one hit, but they kept coming, so it was as difficult as fighting a Mazoku.

"Lina!!!", yelled Gourry, running towards her and slashing a goblin that was about to bite her neck. She turned around and met Gourry's blade.

"Be careful!!!", she said, and kept killing more of the creatures that came out of nowhere.

"I told you", Treis' voice said.

"HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW MY NAME!?!?", yelled Lina, fighting one of the goblins. Suddenly, it struck her 'could it be...!?', she thought.

Gourry was busy destroying three goblins that attacked him at the same time, when he noticed a ray of light going right past him, killing a few goblins, "Huh!?", he said, being distracted for just one second, but picking up the fight in no time.

"Gourry! This guy, this Treis Laguld... he's not a ghost!!!", he yelled.

"What!?", yelled Gourry.

"Ha ha ha ha", said Laguld's voice, deeply from everywhere inside the house "Lina Inverse, huh? You are not as powerful as you should be"

"He knows your name, Lina!!", yelled Gourry, while fighting another bunch of goblins.

Suddenly, from a corner of the huge room, a familiar voice yelled, "RA-TILT!!!!", and a white light destroyed every goblin in the room.

"What?", said Lina, looking at the hooded figure. She immediately recognized it.

Outside, Xelloss was shocked "How didn't I notice this!? This... changes everything!!!"

'It turns out that Treis Laguld wasn't who we were expecting him to be. And the sword seems so far from us... who is this mysterious fighter that joined us in the last moment? Could it be...'

(To Be Continued...)


End file.
